Harbor deepening moves to fast track

Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News The container ship MSC Roma cruises past River Street in route to the Georgia Ports Authority on February 24, 2012. Ships like the MSC Roma - 1,100 feet long, 150 feet wide and capable of carrying more than 9,000 containers - will be commonplace on Savannah's riverfront once the harbor is deepened.

With the swipe of a pen late last month, U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy signed off on the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, propelling the 15-year effort to deepen the Savannah River channel from the hoping, planning and seemingly endless study phase toward the long-awaited reality of mitigation, contract letting and — finally — digging.

Darcy’s “Record of Decision” confirms that the proposed plan is in the nation’s best interest and allows the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which began studying the project’s feasibility in 1999 at the direction of Congress, to move forward with construction.

Under the project, the Corps of Engineers will deepen the Savannah River channel from 42 to 47 feet, allowing larger and more heavily loaded container vessels to call on the port with fewer tidal delays.

“We are absolutely ready to get started,” said Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, the project’s local sponsor.

“Although the Corps has led this initiative at the direction of Congress, as the local sponsor, we have worked hand-in-hand with them from the beginning,” he said. “We plan to continue that collaboration as we move into this next phase.”

The financing

One of the first orders of business, Foltz said is working through some of the detailed agreements that will need to be in place, including obtaining congressional approval for an increase in the project cost, which was set at $230 million in 1999.

Today, that estimate is $652 million with a benefit-to-cost ratio of $5.50 for every dollar spent, netting more than $174 million for the nation annually.

“Our delegates in Washington are working now on getting the proper spending limits set,” Foltz said, adding that he did not expect that to be a problem.

“As with any project, Congress is looking at return on investment,” he said. “The benefit-to-cost ratio of this project makes it very valuable.”

In addition to Congress reworking the spending limits, the Corps and the state will have to draw up a project partnership agreement that will describe the responsibilities of the cost-sharing and execution of work between federal government and the non-federal sponsor, said Col. Jeffrey Hall, Savannah District commander and District Engineer for the Corps.

“We will need to conduct some detailed design and planning, too, but the partnership agreement is the first step,” Hall said.

The cost-sharing ratio is estimated at 70-30 between the federal and non-federal sponsor. Georgia has already committed $180 million to the project, and Gov. Nathan Deal indicated last week he will ask for an additional $40-$50 million in bond revenues in the upcoming budget.

“Georgia is ready and able to pay its share of the cost,” Deal said. “For every $1 we invest, we get back $5.50 in economic benefits. Taxpayers will receive a handsome return on this project.”

As for the federal portion, having a record of decision will allow that to be addressed in the upcoming 2014 budget proposal, coming after the first of the year.

It can’t hurt at this point that Savannah’s harbor deepening is one of a handful of infrastructure projects designated “nationally and regionally significant” by the Obama Administration and slated for fast-track completion.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is a big supporter of the project and, on several occasions, lobbied the president personally on its behalf.

“This deepening of the Port of Savannah is vital to the economic health of the state and metropolitan Atlanta region, and the recent decision is a major milestone,” Reed said Thursday.

“I am pleased to have partnered with Gov. Nathan Deal, Sen. Johnny Isakson, Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Georgia’s congressional delegation on this project, which will bring well-paying jobs and opportunity to our state. Investment in our ports, roads, bridges, transit and airports is critical to get people back to work.

“The completion of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project also is crucial to achieving President Barack Obama’s goal of doubling U.S. exports, and his administration’s support of the port deepening is the right decision at the right time.”

The mitigation piece

Meanwhile, as costs and funding issues are being worked out, a number of mitigation processes are either ongoing or beginning, Foltz said.

Among them:

• Construction of a fish bypass around the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam in Augusta;

• Construction of a series of flow rerouting features in the estuary;

• Acquisition and preservation of 2,245 acres of freshwater wetlands and the restoration of 29 acres of tidal brackish marsh;

• Installation of an oxygen injection system;

• Construction of a raw water storage pond for the city of Savannah’s industrial and domestic water treatment facility;

• Construction of a boat ramp;

• Recovery, documentation and curation of items of historic significance from the Cival War ironclad CSS Georgia;

• A one-time payment to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Striped Bass Stocking program; and

The operation and maintenance of these mitigation features will continue to be a project responsibility with the following exceptions:

• The preserved lands will be transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to become part of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.

• The water storage pond will be transferred to the city of Savannah and the boat ramp to Chatham County.

“Given the proximity of the shipping channel to sensitive estuarine resources, the Corps, along with its state and federal partners, conducted exhaustive engineering and environmental studies to identify the environmental impacts that would be expected from the project and ensure those impacts will be offset through mitigation,” Hall said.

Mitigation accounts for approximately half of the total project cost, he said.

“(This project) has undergone a comprehensive approval process and is an effort that has involved not just the Corps but three other federal agencies and environmental agencies from Georgia and South Carolina,” he said.

The federal agencies that approved the project include the Department of Commerce, the Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.

“The Record of Decision affirms that deepening Savannah harbor to 47 feet is economically viable, environmentally sustainable and in the best interests of the nation,” Hall said.

The construction

Actual digging is expected to begin mid-year 2013.

The first dredging will be done on the outer bar channel and can be initiated with $19.1 million of federal funds and $6.4 million of non-federal funds, Hall said, adding that there are provisions that can be included in the project partnership agreement that will allow the Corps to use state funds while awaiting Congress to provide the federal share.

“Keep in mind, however, that much of the mitigation must be in place before we can deepen,” Hall said.

Among the major construction features of the project will be:

• Extending the existing entrance channel at the mouth of the river by 7 miles and deepening it to 49 feet;

• Deepening the inner harbor to 47 feet;

• Widening bends in one location on the entrance channel and two locations in the inner harbor channel;

• Construction of two meeting areas and deepening and enlarging the Kings Island Turning Basin; and

• Replacing dredged material storage capacity.

The jobs

Based on the amount of money to be spent during the construction phase of the project, the Corps has calculated that more than 11,000 yearlong jobs will be created nationwide for each year of construction.

“Of these, there will be more than 3,700 bi-state jobs — drawing from Georgia and South Carolina — and approximately 2,400 local jobs,” Hall said.

“These are not all construction jobs, but jobs in the area that contribute directly and indirectly to the effort or support those working on the project.”

Foltz said he looks for local hiring on the project to start ramping up in the first half of next year as actual construction gets closer.

Barring delays, the project is expected to be complete in 2016.

“So many people, from across the state and the country have come together to make this project a reality,” Foltz said, singling out GPA employees Hope Moorer and Jamie McCurry and retired GPA executive David Schaller for their years of work in cooperation with the Corps of Engineers.

BREAKOUT

Record of Decision aims to deflect delays

It’s section 401 of the Clean Water Act – which requires that the project obtain a water quality certificate from any state whose waters the project might affect – and it has been something of a thorn in the Corps’ side since the certificate issued by South Carolina in November of last year was subsequently retracted and is now the subject of ongoing litigation.

But, in her Record of Decision, U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy appears to have firmly closed the door on that issue.

“The Corps obtained water quality certificates from the states of Georgia and South Carolina on Feb. 16, 2011, and Nov. 15, 2011, respectively” she wrote in her decision.

“The Corps will comply with all of the applicable conditions outlined in each of these certificates. However, one of the certificates has become the subject of litigation within the state of issuance.

“Consequently, I am seeking a Clean Water Act subsection 404 exemption in order to prevent inappropriate delays to this project due to pending litigation.

“Therefore, when Congress authorizes this project or next appropriates funds for construction, it would be providing an exemption from section 401.”

Corps spokesman Billy Birdwell said his organization cannot comment on any issues involving pending litigation, but Foltz said it sent the right message.

“This project has been done the right way, with a level of study that is unprecedented,” he said.

“Secretary Darcy is sending a strong statement from the Corps that says ‘We’re not going to allow other parties with their own agendas to slow this very valuable project.’